All Because of You
by thesixthcourier
Summary: Minerva is just a simple girl born into the Legion. Simple enough, until she marries Vulpes who gives her everything she wants - including going on missions with him and even picking up a courier job.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

She was a waitress at the Ultra Luxe when he saw her. Thin body, with curves a man would only dream of. The last few nights he had been there, she had been too. Despite the ring on her finger and the golden necklace she wore, he was determined to make her his. Whoever she was seemed like she had caps to spare - the ring itself must've cost a fortune with how many jewels were set in it. It was beautiful, not too big, but big enough to show that she was taken. He noted that in some cultures, a golden coin on a chain was also a sign of matrimony. She certainly looked cultured - tan skin, very pale green eyes, almost see through when the light hit them in a certain way, and dark black hair that fell in curly tendrils down past her mid back. But with how rich they seemed, she couldn't truly be happy with her man, could she? He must always be gone with work and whatnot. What her husband lacked, he was sure he could make up for.

He sauntered over, doing his best to put on his bedroom eyes. She noticed him, no doubt, the flicker of her eyes from him to the elevator meant something, and he was whisked away by her growing scent of wildflowers and the way her hips swayed when she walked. They kept a good distance from each other, just so prying eyes wouldn't have words later.

She went up in the elevator first, and he stayed behind until it came back down for him. On the next floor, there was no one around to hear them, whether they talked or not. Except, in the room across from theirs was her husband, unbeknownst to this man. Of course, she knew. What her and her husband also knew was that he was a pretty high ranking officer of the NCR. Carl Douglas, trying to work his way into General Lee Oliver's arms. They also knew that he was planning on killing the General to take his rank away from him. So, all they needed from him was a few answers about the NCR's plan at the dam, and they would let him continue on with his life and his plan to replace the General.

Once inside the bedroom, there was little room for talk when he started immediately taking off his clothes, getting closer to her as he was doing so. She took off the sun hat, stepped out of her shoes and began unzipping her dress. Before she got far down, she asked him his name.

"Carl, lovely. What's yours?" He was dangerously close to putting his lips on hers, and she needed him talking. Despite the ruse, she was quite faithful to her husband.

"Vera. Vera Fox, my darling. What do you do for a living?"

"I'm in the army." _He's very forthcoming so far,_ she thought, _this shouldn't be too hard._ "Fox? As in Felix Fox's wife?" The thought of getting one over on that brahmin rancher was just too good to pass up.

"That's right, sugar. You said you're in the army?"

"Yeah, as in the New California Republic Army."

"I heard they're going to the dam soon," she said, staring at him. He was completely naked now, touching his way up and down her body. She let him feel, let him grind himself against her as he put his lips on every bit of exposed skin. It made her shudder - it was very uncomfortable, this short man with beady eyes and a pig nose, who wasn't anything like her husband, touching her where only her husband was allowed to touch her.

"Oh yeah. General Lee Oliver has himself holed up at the dam, sweetie. Locked up snug like a bug in a rug, watching over the dam like he owns the place."

She pushed him down on the bed, stripping her dress off and letting her naked breasts fall out. His eyes were so hungry as they searched her body, following her breasts down to her navel and the curves of her legs. It made her feel like dinner. She straddled his leg, nonetheless, slowing crawling on him.

"What's he do up there all day?" She asked.

"Mrs. Fox, the army will still be around to talk about in the morning. Bring yourself up here and we'll have some fun."

"Aww, but I do love talking politics," she said seductively, "it turns me on."

"But I just-"

"Please? For me?" She sat, back and he could feel the heat between her legs on his knee, and he wanted her so bad, how could he deny her?

"Well, General Lee Oliver plans on holding the Legion off. He said he heard through the grapevine that the Legion is planning a surprise attack and the NCR plans on holding them off by using some sort of schematic for a missile launcher they found recently, using the Helios One site."

_Well this is news,_ she thought excitedly, _Helios One is a weapon?_

"What kinda weapon is Helios One?"

"I'm not sure. We can't get it working. The Brotherhood had it working for a while."

_Oh. Disappointing._

"So if they can't get it working, how are they gonna fend off the big, bad Legion?" She pouted out her lower lip.

"If they can't get it working, they want to do a Boulder City on the one tower near the entrance they believe the Legion will be using."

"How do you know which entrance?"

"Our inside man. The north tower."

"You have a man inside the Legion?"

"No. Just a man that knows Latin that pretends to be part of the Legion and radios them."

This was also news to her. How had someone pretended to be a Legionary over a radio? Had someone recognized his voice and played along? How could they have been so stupid as to let an outsider have information?

"I need you to tell me everything you know. Now." She was no longer the purring kitten she was five minutes ago, in fact, her demeanor changed entirely. Like that of an angry lioness.

Carl was stunned to say the least, "Mrs. Fox, you...are you serious?"

"Quite. Give me the info. We know what you're planning against Oliver, and in exchange for our silence, we want all the deets you can give us."

"Us?"

"Yes, us," she said, and right on queue, Mr. Fox walked through the door. He didn't look too happy that his wife was almost naked in front of a stranger, but he knew her to be faithful and knew that she only got naked as a last resort to keep people talking. It seemed to work awfully well.

"Did you hear that, my love?" She asked, "they plan to use Helios One against us, but the poor saps can't even get it working."

"I did," he put on a crooked half smile as he zipped Vera's dress back up, "he was very helpful."

"I...who are you people?" Carl asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fox," he straddled a chair, backwards, "now spit it out, what else do you know?"

"Nothing! Nothing, I swear!"

"No fun. That wasn't what he was saying just a few minutes ago," Mrs. Fox whined.

Mr. Fox took his ripper and cut the man across his chest from nipple to nipple to nipple, "talk, profligate," he commanded in a cold voice that was both silky and calculating.

"I.. I don't have anything more to say."

He cut him from from chest to navel, making a cross shape on the man's body. Blood seeped onto the sheets and he stood up to scurry away. Mrs. Fox caught him, pushing him back down on the bed with strength he didn't know she possessed. The ripper sounded again, and Carl let out fat sobs.

"Aww, look dear, he's crying," Mrs. Fox pointed again.

"Hm, I know. Maybe he's tired."

"Is it time for his nap?"

"Oh, indeed, dear," and with that, Mr. Fox had shot Carl right in the head.

"Oh, poo, hun. You killed him on the bed. We paid for this room for the night. Now where will we sleep?"

"Anywhere you want," he smiled at her and she nodded. "You did a good job."

"Thank you. You're not half bad yourself."

In the middle of their passionate kiss, there was a knock at the door. Mr. Fox sighed, grabbing the door.

"Is there a Vera Fox available?" A young girl asked, peeking around Mr. Fox.

"That's me!" She jumped towards the girl, grabbing the letter out of her hand and replacing it with caps, "thank you!"

After the door was shut, here husband looked at her curiously, "is it the letter-"

"Shh!" She said, ripping the letter open and reading it out loud, "_Deliver the package at the north entrance to the Vegas Strip, by way of Freeside. An agent of the recipient will meet you at the checkpoint, take possession of the package, and pay for the delivery. Bring the payment to Johnson Nash at the Mojave Express agency in Primm._

_Bonus on completion: 250 caps._

_MANIFEST_

_This package contains:_

_One (1) Oversized platinum poker chip, composed of Platinum..."_

"Holy shit, love, you did it!"

This was it. They landed their big job.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Vulpes treated her like a queen. Ever since they were younger, he would give her what she wanted. Her mother was killed after she gave birth, and her father died defending their tribe, so it was just Minerva and Vulpes. Her older brother, Castiel, didn't seem to appreciate Vulpes. He couldn't warm up to him no matter what. That didn't change the fact that his younger sister and Vulpes were inseparable for over fifteen years. Minerva was still inside her mother when her and Vulpes' tribe was conquered. Vulpes was no older than a couple of years. After Minerva's mother was executed for her crimes against the Legion, Vulpes's mom took her and her brother in.

So when Vulpes turned 18 and Caesar told him to find a bride, no one was surprised when he chose Minerva. They were all equally unsurprised when she said yes. At the time, she was 16, and wives were considered a step higher than slaves, but not by much. Of course, Vulpes didn't treat her as a slave. She got what she wanted when she wanted, and the only time he ever thought about getting rough with her or hitting her was in the bedroom.

So when Minerva came to Vulpes and said she wanted to be a Frumentarius, Vulpes couldn't say no. Not only because of the fact that he loved her, but also because the idea of going out and spying with his wife was only the best idea ever. The idea would have to get past Caesar, though. He did not allow women to be in any kind of combat, so Vulpes did not train her for combat. He trained her for self defense, he trained her how to listen and look, how to mingle without ringing any bells, how to be a smooth talker and a seductress.

Still, Caesar kept saying no. He didn't want women to do anything more than to preach or teach, if they were lucky. Vulpes kept trying. He told Caesar that she would just be an "informant" which is just a Frumentarius without the combat skills. When Caesar kept saying no, Vulpes reminded him, "she is _my_ property, after all. What if _I _want her to work with me?"

Caesar said he would think on it, and three days later, came to his answer. Yes. As long as she was always with Vulpes, he would allow it. If she managed to do some of the best work he had seen in ages, then she would get a promotion to Frumentarius. Of course, Caesar didn't think she would exceed his expectations, and Vulpes thought he was bluffing. Nonetheless, they got what they wanted, and when Vulpes woke up at the crack of dawn for missions, she was already ready.

So after getting news of the Courier job to The Strip, Caesar sent news of her promotion to Frumentarius, which came with a set of armor and a red armband that they all wore ( except Vulpes, he had a black armband.) Of course, Vulpes was leader and she would still have to listen to him even if she wasn't the newest recruit, but that didn't matter. Minerva was what a woman could only dream of in the Legion.

Most men were brutish towards their women, treating them as slaves and sex dolls. The only two men that were known for not being complete assholes towards their "property" was Vulpes and Lucius.

Of course, the other slaves would gather around in their sewing circles and talk like radhens - Vulpes didn't deserve Minerva. What do you mean? _She _doesn't deserve _him. _Oh, you are just jealous, I mean, just_look _at Vulpes. Yeah, but Minerva is pretty too. Vulpes is just too nice. Yeah, well we've all heard them at night. He doesn't _seem _very nice. Oh, hush, they're _roleplaying_. By the sounds of it, she likes it just as much as he does. Well with all that sex they're having, you think she would've given him a child already.

And the talk went on and on. Of course, the other slaves would talk about Lucius and his wife in the same manner, but their talk died down quickly when Vulpes and Minerva got married. Vulpes knew they talked and let them, figuring it would've died down two or three years ago. Now, when he walked past the slaves wearing a snarl, he let it be known that they _still _talked and he knew about it. They hadn't heard much in the weeks before the Courier job.

Vulpes offered to buy Minerva a slave, but Minerva (knowing Vulpes was faithful, but still always jealous) said no. "What if that was me?" She would ask, "what if someone brought me into your house to be your slave when you were married?" And he would respond with, "I'd rather fuck you." And that proved and disproved her point at the same time, so she let it go, saying she could do housewife work for him and she didn't mind. In fact, she _liked _making him dinner and cleaning up after him, and all around doting on him. He would say jump, she would ask how high, and then he would jump with her.

However, other than being known as a loving husband, he was known throughout the entire wastes as a brutal punisher. Men, women, teenagers, it didn't matter (as long as they weren't children. They were usually pretty forthcoming with information, anyways.) But there were times when Vulpes had kidnapped a child or two to get the parents talking. It was amazing how easily you could just scoop a kid off the street and their parents not know or see for a few hours.

Either way, Mr. and Mrs. Fox were known throughout the wastes as a wealthy brahmin ranching couple, with Mrs. Fox as the wife who is always ignored by her husband, while Mr. Fox was known as the charismatic drinking buddy. They would always make sure the room next to them was open as well, and Mr. Fox or Mrs. Fox would bring in their target, while the other waited in the next room, quietly. Whenever there was a mention of the word 'us' was when the other sprang in, and let that person know there was two of them. They usually made sure to eliminate the target after talking to them. Sometimes they would be able to drug them, or just get information out of them without them having the slightest inkling that they were Legion.

The Courier job was the first job she was doing alone. Vulpes set up a rendezvous point for them to meet at halfway to the Strip, and then again in Freeside. He trusted her, and she trusted him, but that didn't mean that they trusted everyone else. After showing her how to use it, Vulpes handed over his ripper, begging her not to hurt herself. They promised to meet at the rendezvous point, kissed, and she watched his pale figure disappear into the rays of heat coming off the sand.

When she did not show up to the first rendezvous point at Vault 19, he was only a little worried. Maybe she had run into someone she knew? Perhaps she stopped for a rest and fell asleep. After twenty four hours, he went to look for her, backtracking her route, following the 161 down towards Goodsprings. She had a route entirely placed out for her, so why would she bother to go off track? He knew her, and he knew she was never one to break from the plan, especially if she's the one who made it.

When he found her in Goodsprings, the worst he imagined could happened, had just about happened. Doc Mitchell, as he introduced himself as, said she was out could for the last three days - still alive though. Of course she was, she wouldn't just die on him. She couldn't. He didn't know what he would do without her, the thought alone brought tears to his eyes. And he hated being sappy. The Doc dismissed himself, and Vulpes pulled a chair up beside her bed, watching her. The way her chest rose and fell slowly with each breath was calming; to know she was still breathing and she was still with him.

It was another day before she actually woke up, Vulpes uncramping himself from his tangled position on the chair. The Doc said if it wasn't 9 millimeter ball ammo, and if it wasn't the thickest part of her skull, right between the eyes, she wouldn't have survived. That being said, there was a bandage around her entire head that held another bandage in place on the wound. It started bleeding when she sat up, dizziness and sickness overtaking her, racking her small body with dry heaves until stomach acid splattered the floor. The bed creaked as she collapsed back onto her side.

"Am I dead?" She asked, "it's awfully warm."

"No, hun. You're here. With me, in Goodsprings. You were delivering that package, remember?"

_The platinum chip! _She yelled inside her pulsing brain, "it's gone...the man who shot me. He took it."

They knew the platinum chip was important, from all the digging Vulpes had done on it. Robert House wanted it, which made it twice as important. So, if House wanted it, then the Legion wanted it too. Which is why it was so important for _someone _to land the Courier job, whether it was her or Vulpes.

"Does Caesar know I've been shot and my package taken? Will he demote me?"

_Awake two minutes and worried about demotion, _Vulpes smirked and shook his head, "Caesar does not know, so you have not been demoted, love."

She sighed heavily, followed by a pulsing in her head that made even her eyes hurt, "okay. Can we leave?"

"Are you okay to leave?"

"Help me stand," so he did, putting his arm out and getting frustrated to find she was mostly naked. He turned to Doc Mitchell.

"Her HEAD needed stitched, was it necessary to strip her? Do you _like _taking advantage of unconscious girls?!" He shouted.

Doc Mitchell let out a small chuckle, "don't worry, son, I did that 'cause her clothes was all bloody, that's all."

"Oh. Well, I didn't bring any clothes for you, darling."

"Me neither," she said.

"Don't worry, I have an old Vault suit o' my wife's around here somewheres. She mighta been a bit taller than you though, so you might just have to roll it up a bit."

As the Doc went searching for his wife's old Vault suit, Vulpes combed his long, white fingers through her thick, dark hair, and pushed it all back off her face and shoulders. He used a rubber band on the nearby desk to tie up her hair as she sat in a pained stupor. _Maybe a stimpack wouldn't hurt..._ She thought, the pain almost unbearable.

"Do you have any healing powder?" She asked Vulpes. He nodded, saying he'll grab it in a second.

"Okay, so not only did I find 'er old Vault suit, but I found a matching canteen, too. I figured if ya'll are gonna be trekkin' across the desert, you could use it."

"Thanks so much, Doc. You really don't have to," and then, remembering the new armor she received, she asked where her bag was.

"I think the robot, Victor has it. When he broughtcha in, all ya had on ya were your clothes, but I seem ta recall Victor carrying it."

Minerva slid the Vault suit on and filled up the canteen with water and mixed the healing powder in with it before drinking it in one big gulp. Before leaving, she refilled the canteen and ate the mutfruit Doc Mitchell offered her. When she offered to pay, he shook his head, saying Victor had paid him.

They didn't know who Victor was or why'd he pay for them, but when they went to talk to him, they found out why - Victor was one of House's robots and she was carrying the package for House. So now he probably expected her to find the chip and return it to him.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Vulpes said after they had been silent for a few minutes of walking.

"Me too. My head really hurts though. I imagine this is how it feels to be high. Always stumbling around, your vision half blurred. It's weird and I don't like it."

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"I do, but-"

He didn't let her finish before he leaned in front of her, grabbing her arms and pulling her on his back. Her light snoring came before he could tell her about the job in Nipton he was pulling, which he was quite proud of. But, he would let her sleep, because a bullet to the head was probably a lot of work to have the body heal without most healing agents, save for healing powder and a salve once they got back to camp.

They were going to stop at Primm on the way to Nipton to see what the Mojave Express could tell them about their delivery and who would want to take it. Maybe he could get some comfortable shut eye himself for the first time in a week. Between worrying about Minerva and sleeping on a chair, it had been a while since his head could lie comfortably on a pillow.

He was just glad to have her back. He vowed to search the ends of the earth to destroy whoever would hurt her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

Vulpes looked over at Minerva, who stood tapping her foot at Johnson Nash, "you can't tell me anything?"

"Other than it was suspicious and they paid a lot of caps, no."

"Who contacted you about the job?"

"A robot fella. Nice enough." Mr. and Mrs. Inculta raised an eyebrow at each other. It must've been Victor, why else would he have been on her trail when she got shot? "As for your fancy fella in the daisy suit, you gotta talk to Beagle about that. And he's trapped in the Bison Steve with all those escaped convicts."

"We'd love to go get him for you," Vulpes said, bowing deep before leading Minerva out the door by her elbow.

"I wish I knew this guy. It would make it so much easier," she shook her head.

"Well, my guess is he's from Vegas."

"Yeah, I was thinking that, too. But it doesn't make sense...why ambush me so far away from Vegas? Why not wait until I got to Freeside?"

"Maybe he was afraid that you would run off with the chip."

"You think it was one of House's guys?"

"Maybe. We'll just ask him when we get there."

She nodded, crouching into the darkness of the Bison Steve and making sure the door shut slowly. Vulpes went off to the left, and her to the right, scanning the room for anything useful before meeting back up in the middle. There was a corner to a better lit hallway, which Vulpes went around first. When Minerva came around the corner, Vulpes was in the room across from her, so she went to the room beside him. Still nothing. She may have heard Vulpes digging through some caps, but there was nothing of interest in her room. They left the rooms, creeping down the hallway slowly, listening to the men in the room ahead talk. After rounding the corner, they stood silently while Vulpes took out a stick of dynamite and lit it. As soon as he threw it, everyone started yelling, and after the boom, there was a shower of blood and silence.

"That's what you guys get for standing so close," Vulpes sneered.

"Let's go find the deputy. I'm tired."

Vulpes noticed that Minerva was talking a lot less than normal and she wasn't nearly as excited about killing Powder Gangers as she had been before. He attributed this to the bullet wound in her head and told her to have a seat while he..._convinced _the deputy to give him the information. The Powder Gangers had done half the work for him, by tying him up already. He had a seat at the table in front of him, straddling the chair again. Deputy Beagle wore a shit-eating smirk that he usually didn't see from folks that were tied up.

"There's some information you have, about a man in a checkered coat," Vulpes purred.

"I do. I'd be happy to share it with you if you free me."

Vulpes stuck his ripper against the man's throat, "not how it works."

"Okay, okay, just calm down. I saw them one night when I was doing some recon, your checkered suit fella, he was mentioning Nipton, going there through Novac."

"Thank you. Hun, what do you think we should do with him?" He turned to see that she was asleep at the table. After shaking his head, he decided to just let him go. No information, no reason to waste his time. Or get his suit bloody.

Beagle helped throw Minerva on Vulpes' back and he went back to Johnson Nash's house, where Ruby said they could rest up while everyone was at the Vicki and Vance. Vulpes gently set Minerva down and started looking around. A stimpack under the counter, some comic books on the counter, whiskey and some radscorp meat in the fridge, and a weird looking robot off in the corner. Taking the stimpack, he quietly walked over to Minerva and sat down beside her. She looked peaceful and unmoving; the only way he could tell she was still alive was the slight rise and fall of her chest. But thing thing was – he didn't know how to use the stimpack. Did he inject it right into the bullet wound? Or did it go into a vein? _Mars, why is this so difficult?_ He asked himself before unwrapping her head wound and sticking the needle into the red, puffy flesh. It seemed like the wound got smaller right before his eyes and the redness around it seemed to get lighter; it might've also been the fact that he hadn't slept in a while. So he lie down beside Minerva in the Nash's bed, and for the first time in a week, finally rest his head.

"Okay, so we're gonna be giving these out," Vulpes handed everyone stacks of lottery tickets, "give them out randomly, and we'll call them by what it says on the tickets." He explained what happened to the "lucky losers," the first, second and third place winners as Minerva changed behind a building into her new armor that Caesar awarded her. Vulpes' men eyed her suspiciously. They didn't believe she could be as brutal or as cunning as Vulpes claimed her to be – she was his wife and he was simply just talking up her abilities. It also made them uncomfortable that she was even there – would she be a mother radhen, constantly pecking at them for their mistakes? Would she be the one making the mistakes? _Mars, why even let her come along? What was Caesar thinking? _They thought.

She stepped out around the corner and took a stack of lottery tickets from Vulpes as they strode into the middle of town in Legion armor, not caring who saw or what they said or did. They called for a meeting at the town hall, and surprisingly, everyone followed them, quietly whispering but not saying anything to their captors.

A few Legionaries stayed behind, nailing pikes into the ground and gathering tires for the pyre as Vulpes, Minerva and Gabban headed inside the town hall. Everyone had a seat in the conference room while Minerva was trusted to go 'fetch' mayor Stein. She knocked three times, quickly, like Vulpes told her to (apparently, that's how his prostitutes knocked) and she could hear him get out of his chair and quickly waddle over to the door. His face was stuck in a surprised look as he glanced from head to toe – the new armor she was wearing hugged her curves, and unlike the skirts the men wore, she had tight black pants on with chunky boots and the red sports gear top that they all wore, except hers wasn't armored as well as everyone else's. It was snug on her breasts, though, and the mayor couldn't keep his eyes off her chest.

"I heard you like when people watch, mayor," she said, pulling his tie so that he was bent over her. He stammered and his cheeks turned bright red. "That's what I thought. Come with me, everyone is waiting downstairs."

"Everyone? In town?"

"Yes, mayor," she cooed, "just for you."

He followed her downstairs, watching how perfectly she fit in the black pants and how toned her body was as she took each step. She had done some sort of training or at least kept herself in shape. He liked that, and couldn't resist reaching down to slap her ass. It made her jump, and it certainly made her angry, but she only needed to keep up her ruse until the conference room. Then, she would tell Vulpes and she was certain his punishment would be much worse.

Once they got close enough, the mayor noticed that there were Legion around...and that _she_ was Legion. He started stammering, trying to make up an excuse to leave, but she pulled on his tie like he was a dog and that was his leash. Inside the conference room, everyone sat with their heads down, they didn't dare make eye contact with the Legionaries. Vulpes announced the lottery, and they began passing out tickets. Fists were clutched around that tiny piece of paper that meant life or death, slavery or torture. And even though they were thoroughly outnumbered, not a single person stepped up to say anything against them.

"First, we'll start with the Lucky Losers. Look at your tickets, and anyone who has a Lucky Loser, step up to the podium," Vulpes announced.

Minerva took the large axe out from behind the podium where Vulpes was standing. Lucky losers got beheading, with Minerva as the executioner. Thirteen people lined up, the first struggled against her, so instead of getting a proper beheading, she gripped the axe with both of her hands and swung at a downward arc, cutting right through the woman's stomach – her entrails plopping out on the floor. The look she gave the next in line was somewhere between madness and pure satisfaction as they knelt down, putting their head on the top step for her. A few more people did the same thing, but suddenly, a man shot up from his seat, screaming frantically. She looked over to Vulpes for permission to kill him. He shook his head.

"Grab him and set him back down. How will we teach them a lesson if we don't follow our own rules?"

As she went to grab him, in the confusion, a few people in her line tried to run away. Throwing the old man to the ground, she went after them. The first died mid-step on the stairs as she cut his head off quickly. The other had the axe implanted into his back, and the last she dragged back to behead in front of everyone else. The other Legionaries that doubted her strength before now nodded at her.

"Third place winners, take your place at the stage," Vulpes said as one Frumentarius began cleaning off the stairs. Everyone who came up was put in shackles, their clothes torn off, the men groping at the naked breasts and taking women right there as everyone watched. Vulpes had to command them to stop more than once until he finally said the lottery would be extended to them as well. Minerva laughed in their faces, only returning their contempt for her.

"Second place, please take your place at the stage."

A black man in a Powder Ganger's outfit strolled up to the stage with a cocky attitude. "What do you fucks think you're gonna do to me?" And he found out when they took hammers and crowbars and started bashing his legs in. He was kicking and screaming, but after a while, his legs cramped up into one position and stopped moving. There were tears streaming down his face and the men beating him were covered in his blood. He asked them to kill him, but Minerva let out a chuckle.

"First place?" Vulpes called out, and another Powder Ganger with glasses and a bright orange tuft of hair stood up, his legs shaking as he made his way to the stage. "Stop," Vulpes addressed him, "You're the winner. If you make it out of here before we do, consider yourself a free man." The Fox didn't have to say anything twice and the man was gone, followed by the slamming door.

He looked over to all the dirty faces remaining in the conference room, their tears leaving clean streaks down their faces. After he told them about their crimes, he let the Legionaries do what they wanted to the women, which was mostly rape, pillage, and enslave. Minerva cut the heads off of the men who were frantically running around and used them to decorate the pikes outside. Then, they dragged off NCR troopers and Powder Gangers to be crucified outside.

"Mayor," She smiled wide, "I forgot to tell you. This is my husband. Mr. Fox, he touched me inappropriately."

"Really?" The smirk on his face was too wide, breaking his face in half unevenly, and it scared the mayor. He had no where to run and hide, and this kid was the one that sold the NCR and Powder Gangers out to him. This was the Mr. Fox that seemed so business like in his office the other day, and now...he was a Legionary. It shouldn't have surprised him. Not with how brutal the trap for the NCR and Powder Gangers were. 8000 caps. Fox promised him 8000 caps – he had to have known the caps were too good to be true. Was he really so stupid that he thought the town wouldn't be trapped, too?

"We have something special planned for you," The Fox said quietly.

"What are you-" Minerva smacked him in the back of the head with the butt of her axe and he hit the floor with a thud.

"This went surprisingly smooth," She grunted, having half of the mayor's weight in her arms, "you did an amazing job."

"Don't thank me. You're the one who killed everyone. I'll let Caesar know how well you did."

"Thanks," She was beaming. It's not that she felt like she owed Caesar anything – because she certainly didn't – it was just more the need to prove him wrong than anything else. And she seemed to be doing a good job of that lately. Maybe it was because she never knew her parents because of Caesar. That's not saying that Vulpes' mom didn't do a good job raising them. Maybe it was because she was a woman and she was the absolute bottom of the totem pole, even with Vulpes' influence. She wasn't sure, but she was sure that she felt like she owed Caesar shit.

They reached the tire pyre and had someone come over and help them string the mayor to the cross. Even though he was still passed out, he was pretty much just deadweight, so they struggled a bit before getting him secure. They lit the tires and stood back to watch their handy-work. An entire town had practically bowed down before them. It took less than an hour to kill an _entire town. _The few people that did fight back did a very poor job of doing so and were taken down within seconds.

"Your men don't like me very much," Minerva pouted.

"I think they're scared of you now."

"Well they should be."

"Did you see how big that axe was that you had? You were swinging it around like it weighed nothing."

"I try," he bent down to kiss her and she sighed, "You know, I like how your men preach about whores and profligate sexual behavior, and then they just start molesting and raping women."

Vulpes was silent for a second, his lips pressing into a thin line, "Yeah, I noticed, too."

"Well, they were once profligates, too. I guess you can't help it if that's how you're raised."

A cold chuckle escaped his lips, "I guess so."

They walked from the tires and back to the town hall, admiring their work. Powder Gangers with broken, bloody faces moaned and groaned in the hot sun of midday. A few of the Legionaries were starting to go back to the Cove, taking their dogs with them. Vulpes stopped one and told him to pass a message to Caesar – they were heading to Vegas first and they'd be back soon. The Frumentarius nodded, but not before giving Minerva a nasty look.

"I can just as easily behead you, too," She spit, "degenerate."

It was true that she was cocky – people couldn't very well call her a profligate as she was born into the Legion. Most men over their mid twenties were already a couple of years old at least when they were brought into the Legion. Vulpes, for example, was a year old. He wasn't old enough to remember anything before being a Legionary; same with Castiel. Her brother married as soon as he turned eighteen as well, taking in a slave girl that Vulpes' mother worked with, and as far as she knew (though she knew it was none of her business,) the only person Castiel ever laid with was his wife. Same with her and Vulpes.

Castiel was a bit of a prince though – always getting what he wanted from Lucius if he couldn't get it from Vulpes' mom. He joined the Praetorian Guard at sixteen and somehow wormed his way into Lucius' heart, like a son. If Minerva remembered correctly, his wife couldn't have babies. That didn't change the fact that he had practically disowned her since she married Vulpes. They were always like brothers, but with a hate-hate relationship. Vulpes was tall and slim, lean and muscular. He could talk his way into or out of any situation, and despite his pale skin and bright white hair, he could blend into the shadows. Caesar had taken a liking to Vulpes faster than Castiel and both Minerva and Vulpes thought that maybe that's why he didn't like him. Castiel was a brute of a man, about Vulpes' height (which was a good foot taller than Minerva) with tanned skin, darker green eyes than his younger sister, and dark black hair as well. They could pass for twins if Minerva's eyes weren't large and round, and his weren't sharp angled and squinted most of the time. When they were younger, Minerva would watch Cas and Vulpes fight, and even though Cas could never catch the other man, she was sure if he did, he would've broken Vulpes' spine with his strength.

"How about we go...enjoy ourselves?" her husband asked, leading her to one of the now empty houses.

"We'll just have to be quiet. Your men are still here."

"Hmm," he smiled, "I'm not sure it's a problem."

"And if it is?"

"I'll deal with it," his teeth grazed her neck. It sent a shudder down her spine and she whispered an "okay" as he pulled her shirt over her head and admired her naked chest. She liked the way he looked at her – like he couldn't stop, like he could never get enough, and it made her feel good. Of course, there were men at the Fort that always stared at her, but they made her feel like a piece of meat. They weren't looking to do anything but have sex, and the slaves and profligate girls just weren't sating their appetites anymore. Vulpes made sure to tell everyone that she was his and his alone, and when he wasn't telling them, he was showing them by making her call his name throughout the night; just like he was doing now. _She is mine, I am hers, you can't have her, I've already claimed her. _

It didn't bother her when he pinned her against the wall, pushing into her forcefully, growling into her hair – in fact, she liked it. It didn't bother her that she was considered his property, because the only time he treated her like it was now, and he made sure every time that it was okay with her, never wanted her to breach her comfort zone, though she was willing for him. His one arm was across her chest, pushing her back against the wall, his other held her leg up and he was crushing her body against the wall with his weight, but she was too busy yelling his name, clawing his back to notice the pain in her hip or the splinter in her back.

After finishing, he pulled her into a hug, placing his lips gently on her collar bone. They lie down in the bed, his arm draped over her stomach and her head into the crook of his neck. The knock at the door came soon enough after that it didn't even give them a chance to drift off into sleep. Vulpes lazily pulled up his boxers before answering the door, expecting it to be one of his men and they'd seen him much worse. They exchanged a few words in Latin, and he came back to lying down with his wife.

"What was that about?" She asked sleepily.

"They said that the first place winner is just running around town shouting that he was the winner of the lottery. They asked to kill him, but I told them since he was the winner, he won fair and square and he gets to live."

"I'd kill him."

"No, that's not how you teach lessons, dear. He'll go and tell everyone that he was the only one to live and everyone else died. He'll tell everyone that the Legion was only merciful towards him, and they took down an entire town while everyone wept and hoped that their time didn't come."

"Okay, you're the boss."

"Yes, yes I am." It pleased him to no end when she let him know he was in charge. They were still, lying sleeplessly in the heat of the Mojave, still sweating from earlier. "I'd like to start a family with you," he said quietly.

Although being pregnant with her husband's child excited her to no end, she didn't want the nine months of not being able to do anything except sit in the house. And after that, they'd have a child to raise and she wouldn't be going on many more missions with Vulpes, after she just got promoted, too.

"Well, you didn't pull out. So that's a start," she said. It was the only thing she could think of that wouldn't make him angry. Hell, it might still, with the tone that she said it in. Although, instead of worrying about him being angry, _he_ should worry about _her_ being angry. That was the deal they've had since they were younger – until she was ready, he was supposed to pull out.

Vulpes purred quietly into her hair, "I love you."

"And I, you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

_hefty amount of lemons in the last couple pages._

_As always, R&R means a lot to me! :)_

* * *

With passports to the Strip and people who knew their names, it wouldn't be hard to just walk into the Tops and ask to speak to Benny. The only long or hard part about it was the walk itself. It was hot – the rays of sun reflecting off the sand, baking it and the air around them. For the most part, whatever it was about Vulpes, critters liked to avoid him. It was like they were scared of him, like he threatened them and their families – so they watched from afar as him and Minerva kept walking towards the Strip, staying mainly on the road.

They were both sweating and tired, and the sun was burning their skin where it was visible, which for the most part they made sure to be covered. Since Vulpes' skin was so light, he burnt very easily, yet he never tanned, so it was a constant cycle of burning, peeling, and burning again. Minerva's skin was a constant light tan, so she had to worry less than he did. The slaves at camp would make a salve for him if he burned, anyways.

"So, as your boss, I'm required to tell you about Caesar's _condition_," Vulpes started. She looked over at him, but didn't say anything, obviously waiting for him to finish. "He's been...acting different. Forgets what he's saying, who he was talking to. He complains of headaches and locks himself in his tent all day. It's...nerve wracking. I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Has he appointed you his Headache Investigator?"

"Well, no, but -"

"So why are you required to tell me? He has headaches. He'll live."

"Minerva, it's different than that."

"Hmm," she growled. Caesar just rubbed her the wrong way.

"No, come on, it really is."

"How?"

"Well, he just...you know. You know how he is, he never lets anything bother him. Except this. He just blanks, mid-sentence and stares at you, completely forgetting what he was saying. Then, he goes in his tent and just lays there, moaning and groaning. He wouldn't even let me in. Lucius just shakes his head when I ask what's wrong, and he's the only one allowed in. He took three days to dispatch Silus' team on their last mission. _Three days_. That's a long time to just have them _wait_. And, boy, you should've heard Silus."

"I can just imagine," Silus also rubbed her the wrong way, "If it's not headaches, what do you think it is?" She asked.

"I...don't know. Someone suggested a growth on his brain, but we don't have the tools to fix that kind of thing."

"Doesn't he have an auto-doc?"

"Well, yeah, but I think it's broken."

"Well if you said Lucius is the only one allowed in, then perhaps Castiel knows more about it than we do."

Vulpes puffed out his chest, "Why would he know more than me? I'm one of Caesar's top men! I'm a higher ranking officer than Cas!" His hands balled into fists at his sides.

"Calm yourself, it was a suggestion."

"I did not appreciate the suggestion."

"Understandable."

They continued walking in silence, through the swirling sand and the slowly settling heat as the sun began to sink below the horizon. They were only about half way to the Strip, so they'd have to stop somewhere to rest up. Mostly because he didn't want to risk having Minerva out in the middle of no where in the dark. Vulpes, himself felt like he could keep going all night. There was a shack up ahead that they could rest in, but as they neared, they saw Powder Gangers. _This could go one of two ways,_ Vulpes thought, _they could recognize us as Mr. and Mrs. Fox and let us stay there for the night, or they could recognize us as Mr. and Mrs. Fox and try to rob us._ He felt Minerva's hand on his shoulder and let her walk ahead – the Powder Gangers were all male, and Minerva was considered an attractive woman.

As she sauntered up to them, they stopped talking and held guns towards her. She raised her hands, telling them that she had no quarrel with them.

"How'd you get through without tripping the mines?" One asked.

Her smile was small, but it was cocked to the side enough to let them know she was proud of herself, "I'm quite agile."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well I saw you were alone, and I'm alone, so I was just looking for someone to spend the night with."

Their faces immediately lit up as they began whispering to each other. _Is she gonna charge us? Who cares man, look at her! Yeah, I know but...I don't have a lot on me. _She_ came onto _us_, dude. Let's go for it. At the same time or one after the other? Dude, I don't even care._ She cleared her throat to get their attention, and when they looked back up at her, the one said "one at a time" at the same time the other said "threesome."

"Well, decide amongst yourselves. I'll go get ready," and with that, she went into the shack and waited for them. It didn't take long before the one appeared, probably mid-twenties with a mess or black hair and beady, piercing green eyes. Not only was he covered in grime, but he didn't particularly smell great, either. He immediately backed her into a corner, shoving his hand up her shirt and placing his mouth on hers. It took her a second to recover, but when she did, she placed her hand over his mouth and _snap!_ twisted his neck. His body was heavy in her arms, and she tried to lower him gently without raising any concerns. After a few minutes, she went outside to see that Vulpes had already done the other guy in. And to think he was so quiet about it, too.

"There's not a whole lot in there. Well, except for the body, if you wanna help me drag that out," She said.

He nodded, moving the other body aside and disarming the mines. Minerva wondered why he took the time to do it; he was agile enough that he could just skip right over them, but his reason became apparent after they moved the body. The mines were going right outside the door, in case anyone tried to come in. Of course, they'd know the mines were there, so when they left in the morning, they wouldn't be an issue.

Minerva turned on her Pip-Boy light and set it in the center of the dingy, cluttered shack. There wasn't even a mattress in the room. A chair, a desk, a few overturned lockers...that was it. Vulpes sat against the wall, and Minerva lie down, putting her head in his lap. It made her sleepy when Vulpes played with her hair, curling it around his finger, massaging her scalp, running his hands through it.

"Sorry this isn't the Ultra-Luxe," He said quietly.

"It doesn't matter. I'm with you, love," she smiled.

* * *

When they awoke, the sun was filtering brightly through the cracks in the old boards on the windows. The mines never went off, so no one even tried to come in – probably because it was known as Powder Ganger territory, and they usually left each other alone. It was probably worth mentioning that there were two dead guys outside, so looting the place didn't seem like a good option. Not that there was a whole lot in the shack to take. A few bottle caps, that was it.

By the time they reached the Strip, it was about eight at night, after walking for about ten hours. As soon as they went through the gate, Victor from Goodsprings met up with them, pretending to tip his hat and handing them a strange looking key.

"Mr. House wants to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Fox!"

They even didn't have to break into the Lucky 38, _they could just walk in now._ House literally just gave them the key to everything they have been trying to hard to achieve. It was in their hands now – Minerva had done it. She had done what the Frumentarii had been trying to achieve since they came to Nevada – the Lucky 38 was practically in their back pockets.

"Head on over asap, wouldn't wanna keep 'im waitin'!" Victor wheeled over to the door and sat staring at them expectantly.

"What should I do?" Minerva asked, "Go to House or go to Benny?"

"Go to House. I'll sit on the bench over there and catch Benny if he tries to leave."

"Hopefully House has a proper shower," she said before kissing him goodbye, "I won't be too long...I hope."

Victor opened the first set of doors, which parted like an elevator. Inside, there was another set of doors that opened with her chip-key. After stepping inside, Victor rushed her aside and closed the door again. At first, she was amazed – the casino had stayed mostly in tact, and the air was so stale that there were specks of dust just suspended in mid-air, floating aimlessly, only to be pushed away as Minerva walked past. The floors were done with dark red carpets, and the walls were a dark green color, making it hard to see with the dim lighting. But the nice thing was the air. It was cool, like something was making it cooler than the air outside. It was making her skin goosebump and the sweat on her back cold.

Victor called her over to the elevator, and they went up, probably only about a floor before the securitron stepped out and announced they were in the Penthouse. She thanked him before walking to another securitron who introduced herself as Jane, pretty much telling Minerva that she was Mr. House's sexbot. Minerva nodded, heading down the stairs and standing in front of a large monitor. After calling out his name, he appeared on the screen, shushing her a few times.

"So you're the Vera Fox everyone is so abuzz about?" He asked.

She twirled her dress, "Yes I am, sir."

"And why did you take up the job in the first place? You and your husband are pretty wealthy, are you not?"

"Yes, sir. I was just bored of the helpless wife routine. My husband only brings me here because I follow him, sir."

"Yes, well, anyway, the platinum chip is no longer in your possession, I'm aware?"

_Oh shit, if he knows, maybe Caesar does too? Okay, let's just think for a second and keep cool..._ "Yeah. Benny took it. I was about to go over to the Tops now and grab it from him."

"He is on the 13th floor of the Tops casino. Bring me back the chip, _quietly_, and I will quadruple your courier wage. After all, I am the only one who knows how to use it. In the meantime, you and your husband may have access to the Presidential suite anytime you are on the Strip. I'll be sure to tell Victor. But only you are allowed down here to speak to me, understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Only come back when you have the chip."

In the short time that she was in the casino, she had forgotten how bright the sun in the Mojave was. Temporarily blinded, she tried getting her bearings before looking around for Vulpes; like he said, he was sitting on the bench across from the Tops, but there was a woman beside him. His head was lolling back on his shoulders; arms outstretched across the back of the bench. The woman, in NCR trooper gear, was leaning into him, whispering into his ear, caressing her husband's thigh like they weren't sitting on the Strip in the middle of the day. Minerva watched as Vulpes sat back lazily, a smile playing on his thin lips as the woman giggled and placed her lips on his ear. She knew he liked that, and even though everyone thought of them as estranged, with Minerva supposedly sleeping around, and Vulpes _was_ just getting information, the gnawing pit of fire in her stomach wanted to tell her otherwise. So far, it was doing a good job of convincing her.  
The woman got up and walked away after a few minutes, clearly drunk. Vulpes looked around to spot his wife strutting towards him, her hips swaying wildly and her hair blowing back off her shoulders. He smiled up at her lazily.

"Hello, love. What did Mr. House say?"

"Just to get the chip from Benny. What did that trooper say?"

"She said the Legion raided Nelson and now the NCR at Forlorn Hope are too scared to take it back. The squad at Camp Guardian disappeared and the NCR are too stretched to even care. Fiends are nearing Camp McCarran, and no one is stopping them. She gave me her room number at Vault 22 to stop by and see her later."

"Hm. Excellent," Minerva smirked, "Let's go pay Benny a visit."

Though they walked in together, and Swank addressed them by name, they still handed over what weapons they had that were visible to them, and Vulpes left to gamble or drink or whatever it is he did while she was gone. Minerva leaned against the counter, her breasts spilling out of her dress, a small pout on her lips.

"Swank," she called his name seductively and he turned towards her, immediately gluing his eyes to her chest, "I have a favor to ask."

"A-anything."

"I would like to see Benny."

"Why Benny? Pussycat, I can give you what you want."

"Hmm," she growled, "What about you _and _Benny?"

His mouth formed in the shape of an O, "Pussycat, I'd love to, but the Ben-Man...well, I don't know if he'd be up for it."

"Well, let's go find out, shall we? Lead me there."

So he did, hitting the elevator button while keeping his hand pressed to the small of her back. Vulpes was watching from a blackjack table, his eyes narrowed, though he was still focused on the game – winning for the fourth time in a row. The other guests clinked their glasses together and a waiter brought Vulpes a Sarsaparilla and vodka, mixed just right so the sting of the alcohol was almost nonexistent as he sipped generously. Swank shot him a shit-eating grin before stepping on the elevator, and Vulpes chuckled to himself.

Once on the elevator, Swank slipped the straps of her dress down her shoulders, pulling lightly on the front of her dress so her breasts slipped out. He kneaded one with one hand, and wrapped his fist in her hair, pulling back and grazing his teeth along her tanned skin, down her neck and chest until flicking her nipple gently with his tongue. When she growled in anger, he took it for a moan and kept going, until the elevator dinged to signal they hit the 13th floor.

"Benny is going to love the way you taste," he smiled.

Her teeth bared at his comment, but they went continued anyways, Swank stopping outside and knocking twice, pausing and then knocking three more times on the double doors. There was some crashing around, the slamming of a door and then someone calling out "the fuck you want, Swank? I'm busy."

"Someone is here to see you. And I think you'll like her."

"What? I didn't order room service."

"Oh, Benny, trust me, you'll want it."

Although it pleased Minerva to no end that she was considered attractive, it made her stomach turn that they were treating her like pieces of meat, essentially. Whatever was needed to get the job done.

Benny answered the door, disheveled and clearly distraught. What upset him more was the fact that _this girl_ was the courier he shot dead a week before. She even still had the hole in her head to prove it! And with Swank standing right there, Benny couldn't say anything without tipping him off about the chip, although the horror on his face was plain as day.

"Wow, Benny, what a sore reaction. She's cute!" Swank motioned towards her.

In one swift motion, she pulled her dress up and grabbed the silenced .22 from her thigh holster. She pointed it behind her and shot Swank right in the head without even looking back. If Benny was afraid before, he was _petrified_ now. She pulled on his tie, bringing his face towards hers, and put the .22 to his chin. The elevator dinged.

"I could kill you right now, like I did Swank. But that would be too easy." She pouted, "what should we do with him, love?"

Vulpes took off his hat and ran his fingers through his pale hair, "I say we take him back to the Fort. String him up, make an example of him," he reached into Benny's breast pocket and pulled out the chip, "we'll be taking this."

"Maybe I should take it to House first and see what it does. He said he's the only person who knows how to use it," Minerva suggested.

"Sure, dear," He handed it over and kicked the back of Benny's knee when he noticed him struggling against his wife's grasp.

As Benny lie on the floor, Minerva's gun pointed at her head, Vulpes congratulated her for another job well done, but scolded her briefly for killing Swank so openly. When she told him that Swank touched her, he nodded, simply allowing the kill. After dragging Benny back into his suite and tying him to the chair, they started searching around, finding a ton of caps and some ammo in a nearby safe. His bedroom held a queen size bed, and a few dressers and nightstands. Nothing exciting.

"How do you stay so calm when men touch you?" Vulpes asked.

"I just imagine it's you."

"Flattering."

"Come here," She said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He complied, standing between her legs and leaning over her. Just like Swank, he pushed the straps of her dress off her shoulders, and pulled the front down enough to expose her breasts. She let out a gasp as he suckled and pinched at her nipples, pushing her down on the bed. After a few minutes of focusing mainly on her breasts, he moved his hand down between her legs and held her wrists together with his other hand. Her breaths were coming out in shallow moans as he repeatedly circled the nub of pink flesh with one finger, while pushing the other finger in her.

"On your knees, profligate," he commanded in a chilling voice. She did as he asked, taking her dress off and positioning herself on her knees on the floor. He let out a gasp when she started stroking the hardness beneath his pants, and he moved her hands to his zipper. "Do it," he hissed, and she unbuttoned his pants so painfully slow, taking the zipper down one tooth at a time. After wrapping his one hand in her hair, he used the other hand to grab at her breast. When she finally released him from his pants and put him in her mouth, he was twitching with anticipation. Up and down, she stroked as he held her head in place with her hair, rhythmically thrusting into her mouth. Just when he thought he was to the point of no return, he stopped, grabbing her from the floor and throwing her to the bed. She landed on her stomach, and he slapped her ass hard, repeatedly.

"Why are you being punished?" He asked.

She let out a moan.

"Why, profligate?"

"M-my crimes against the...the Legion, sir."

He growled, pulling her up by her hips so that her ass was up in the air. He stuck another finger into the soft, pink flesh and slapped her ass again.

"What are your crimes?"

"Being...b-being a degenerate."

"And?"

"Please, just fuck me, Vulpes."

His stomach twitched in response, but he slapped her ass hard again.

"What is your other crime?"

"Lusting after you."

A smirk played on his lips. He liked having the power and she liked being powerless. It was a win-win, and when he finally slid himself inside of her, he had to grip her hips to the point where there were visible fingerprints that would leave bruises later. It was all he could do to not come undone right away. His arm snaked around Minerva's waist, gently rubbing the puffed pink flesh between her legs. It wasn't long before she was throwing her head back and yelling his name. With his free arm, he pushed her head back into the bed and watched as she gripped the sheets tight, her body clenching around his in anticipation of another orgasm. He growled at her tightness, waiting until she tipped over the edge before he allowed himself to pull out and finish his orgasm on her back.

After cleaning off in one of the nicest bathrooms she had ever seen, they poked around some more, until coming across a robot who identified himself as Yes Man. From him, they learned that Benny and someone from the Followers reprogrammed him to not say no, he hacked into House's mainframe and found out where the courier with the platinum chip would be when Benny showed up to kill her, that Benny wanted to take over the Strip, and that Yes Man had no idea what the chip did either. He just knew it was important to House, but since House blocked him from hacking into the mainframe again, he couldn't just check what it did.

So the plan was to take the chip back to House, figure out what it did and take Benny and the chip back to the Fort. Which honestly didn't seem too hard to pull off after somehow surviving a bullet to the head.

"Luck _is_ the name of the game, after all," Minerva smiled at Benny.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

The ride to The Fort was long and tiring, especially since Benny tried several times to throw himself overboard. Minerva held the tie on his wrists so he couldn't move and Vulpes sat on his legs. They were well past asleep and when he stood up to get off the boat, and a few times, his knees buckled. Minerva grabbed one arm and Vulpes grabbed the other, dragging him up the Fort to Caesar's tent. He wasn't there.

Vulpes walked up to Lucius and asked him what was wrong. Lucius answered with, "who's this guy?"

"I brought him here," Minerva piped up.

"I wasn't speaking to you, woman," Lucius growled.

"Hey, don't speak to her that way," the voice came from Castiel, who had just entered the tent behind them.

"Hello, Cas," She said quietly as he approached the two men bickering in the corner. She took a seat beside a tied up Benny and pushed her fingers into the dirt, drawing a flower and a smiley face.

"You have some real talent," Benny laughed.

"Shut up, degenerate," her voice was still quiet.

"Come on, lemme go and we can blow this joint. The Ben-Man has some ideas for Vegas under his belt that we could both benefit from."

"I am comfortable with my family," she motioned around her.

"They dont seem comfortable with you. I think theyre afraid of your potential. Youre just a woman to them, but youre proving that you can do what a man can do, and that makes them uncomfortable."

"They know what I'm capable of. I've been here since I was born."

"Then they're being dicks about it."

"Lotta talk about guys being dicks coming from a guy who shot me in the head," she bared her teeth.

"Aw, c'mon kid, it wasn't anything personal. I did what I had to do, that's all."

"I could've died."

"Well, that _is _why I shot you in the head, after all, and not the foot."

"And now you're going to be crucified, so I hope it was worth it."

Before Benny could open his mouth to speak, Vulpes walked over, helping Minerva to her feet, "Caesar's been having a bad day. We'll talk to him in the morning," he said, spitting on the dirt in front of Benny.

They walked back down to their tent as the sun finally sank below the horizon. When they entered, they lit the lantern on the table in the kitchen area and in the living room. She sat down on the disheveled couch and she flipped through some old holotapes while Vulpes turned on the old computer to start typing up his reports. Minerva hadn't had to type any up yet, so she would need to learn how as soon as he was done.

After not being able to find anything worth watching, she gave up, and went to the kitchen - the section of the tent-like house that had a sink and a fridge, they managed to squeeze a card table off to the corner as a dinner table, and there was a fire pit in the center for cooking. They'd get a much bigger place when they had kids, but for now, it was cramped, but comfortable. It was theirs - something they didn't have to share with Castiel or Vulpes' mother.

The tent was one, large, open room, except for the bedroom, where a cloth hung from the ceiling to give them privacy. Even if it was just them, Minerva was uncomfortable with the idea of everything being out in the open. Vulpes got up from the computer long enough to roll the door open, seeing that Minerva was setting dinner items out on the counter. Carrots, onions, basil leaves, a chunk of bighorner meat - he liked when she made stew, it was filling and reminded him of his mother. She'd need water, too, so he decided to grab a bucket and run to the pump to get her some. They passed each other on her way down.

She dumped one bucket of water in the sink, setting the now-empty pail under the sink to catch the water when she drained it, and she poured some of the other bucket into a large cast-iron pot. While humming, she cut up the expensive vegetables and basil leaves, grabbing what little seasonings they had to dump in the pot. Garlic salt and beef flavoring, mostly. A little dollop of brahmin butter, and the now-cut up chunk of meat. More seasonings on top of the meat itself, more water, and she let it simmer over the fire.

By then, Vulpes was done typing his report and it was printing out of the side of the computer. He'd have to find some more paper soon, if they could remember to scavenge that when they went out. He asked Minerva what she wanted to watch, and she replied with, "nothing, if I'm doing my report, I'll be distracted." He guessed that was true, shrugged, and sat on the too-small, too-worn down couch, bundling himself into a comfortable position and telling her to wake him up when dinner was ready.

She stirred it, sat down at the computer and sighed. Hopefully this came naturally to her, like everything else.

_2281__October 21_  
_Minerva Inculta_

_I was commissioned by Robert House as a courier to carry a package through the Mojave and to Freeside, where someone else would pick up the package and pay me. However, this did not happen. I was intercepted by some Great Khan members, and a guy named Benny, who runs the Tops casino on the Strip, at a small town called Goodsprings. Benny seemed to be calling the shots _(she was proud of herself for that little pun) _and they tied me up, shot me in the head, and buried me in a shallow grave._  
_I was lucky that one of House's old robots, Victor, was there. He took me from my grave and to a doctor, where he patched me up and sent me on the road. Vulpes and I tracked the Khans down, in Boulder City, and from there, Benny on the Strip._

She got up and stirred the stew again, switching her clothes for one of Vulpes' large t-shirts he wore around the house. It was old and stained, but it smelled like him and made her comfortable. She didn't care that the door was rolled open - if the men looked, Vulpes would say something. He would also say something if the women gossiped, but she told him to let them talk. It was the only good thing in their lives.

_Once on the Strip, Robert House invited Vera Fox to meet him in the Lucky 38. I went in, and he asked to retrieve the chip and bring it to him. Vulpes and I took Benny, and took the chip to House. House said he was the only one who knows how to work it, and he would like for me to take the chip to the bunker on Fortification Hill to upgrade his securitrons. Vulpes and I apprehended Benny and would like to crucify him for his actions against the Legion. As for the chip, it shall be dealt with by dawn tomorrow and another report will follow._

She got up, stirring and tasting. It didn't seem done yet, and she had time to kill before waking Vulpes up. Her report was probably not as detailed or as good as Vulpes' but she would learn, and they'd get better. It didn't really take her that long to write, anyways.

After dinner, Vulpes and Minerva cuddled on the couch and watched a few holotapes, before Silus entered the tent. He looked around, saying that the stew smelled good and Minerva offered him a bowl. They sat down at the small table and asked him why he was there. It wasn't often that Silus invited himself over or even came over if he was invited.

"Caesar wishes to speak to Minerva, alone. Tomorrow morning at dawn. Excellent stew by the way."

0987654321

"Mrs. Inculta!" Caesar greeted her as she took a knee, lowering her head in a bow.

"Thank you for requesting an audience with me, sir."

He lifted his hand and flicked his fingers forward. Minerva stood up, watching all of Caesar's guards leave one by one, leaving just her and Benny in his too big, too elegant tent. As Caesar stood up, she noticed he used the arm rests of the chair to steady himself - something he never did before. The closer he got to her, the more she realized how pale he was, how dark the circles around his eyes were.

"I brought you my report," she presented it to him, "it's the first one I did, so it might be a little rough..."

"I'm sure it will be fine. First, I just wanted to congratulate you on your...promotion to Frumentarius. You have done what no other woman in the Legion has done before. Now, before I get too ahead of myself..." He took her report and set it on the small table beside his throne. He walked back over, not even bothering to give Benny a fleeting glance. Minerva shifted awkwardly, watching Caesar walk towards her with purpose. He didn't look like he was upset, but that was the way he walked - when you knew he was after something. His hand reach up, moving her bangs out of the way, "this is the man who shot you?" He pointed to Benny, and Minerva nodded, slowly. It was awkward being this close to him, with his warm hand on her sweating face.

"I'd like to crucify him, sir."

He smiled, his hand dropping, "of course you would," his hand rested on the back of her dress, ripping it, pulling it off her now naked body. She let out a yelp as he slapped her with the fabric. "I gave you a promotion, and you repay me by letting _this guy _get the better of you?!"

There were tears in her eyes and she struggled to keep her hand over her breasts, "he didn't get the better of me! I won! He's here now!"

"He stole your package and you _betrayed _the Legion, your family, by giving it to House!" He wound up the fabric and slapped her again and again with it.

"I have the chip! It's in my possession! House told me how to use it! I have access to the Lucky 38!"

"Wipe your eyes. You claim to want to be treated like a man, yet you couldn't handle half the beating I would give them. You're lucky I don't crucify _you _instead. Minerva Inculta, you have been hereby demoted from your Frumentarius status," he ripped the armband off of her.

"No, wait. If I fight in the arena and win, can I keep my promotion?"

"Women aren't allowed in the arena."

"I'll fight Benny, and if I win, if he dies, I keep my promotion."

Caesar threw the fabrics down at her feet, walking away from her and back to his throne. He shouldn't allow it, but she had no training. This was a poor decision on _her _end, because from what Caesar knew, Benny was a tribal. He probably had at least one bone in his body that knew to use a machete. Yes, he'd allow it. Maybe then, she'd die and Vulpes could find a new mate that actually _wanted_ to reproduce and act like a woman should.

When he turned around, he saw her standing with her fists at her sides, her bare chest and sorry excuse for underwear out in the open. He nodded, "at sundown. The arena. If you win, you may keep your Frumentarius status."

"Thank you," she bowed again before leaving.

Being a woman and walking naked through the Fort was something no one else would've done. _You couldn't handle half the beating I'd give them _echoed through her head. So she kept her head high, even though she felt the stares and heard the cat calls and watched guys making obscene gestures. She hoped Vulpes was still asleep.

But he wasn't, so she rushed into their bedroom, hoping he hadn't noticed her nakedness. She was only in there long enough to throw last night's T-shirt back on before Vulpes appeared behind her.

"Why...were you naked? Did he do something to you?"

"No. He just demoted me until tonight when I kill Benny in the arena."

"But why are you naked? Wait. Benny, in the arena? You can't! You don't have any fighting skills!"

"He ripped off my dress and beat me with it. Called me a traitor. Besides, Benny is from Vegas. He probably knows less than I do."

"No, love. Benny was the head of the Boot Riders before House took them in a few years ago to rehabilitate them until the Families."

Now she was starting to worry. That bastard tricked her! He knew that; he knew that he was a tribal and that's the only reason he let her into the arena. She knew absolutely nothing about knives or weapons or how to use them and how to fight back. The match started at sundown, and Vulpes would have to teach her what he knew before then.

"Okay, so stand like this," he put his feet shoulder length apart, "keep one arm like this, near your face. Always protect your face. That's a big one, and an obvious one. You won't be empty handed - Caesar will throw two machetes in the middle. You'll have to be fast. Or at least faster than Benny. Maybe you can get ahold of both machetes."

"Both? But, my left hand isn't very good."

"Who cares?" He shrugged, putting his weight into his palm as he bent his fingers down leaving his palm open, "disarm him. It'll take him longer to punch you to death if you have both machetes." He pushed his palm at the bottom of her nose, gently, "your palm will more than likely be a better bet than your fist, if you can't get a machete. Go for the nose, like this."

She repeated him, keeping her arm in front of her face.

"Good. Now you're small, so you're agile. Probably more so than that broad shouldered bastard. So another option you have is your elbow. You can use it to take out his ribs," he folded his hands together and pushed his elbow into her ribs, gently rubbing it in the space between the two. Even though he hadn't put any force into it, it still hurt, "you can go for the stomach, the head...anywhere your elbow can reach."

Minerva tried it a few times, making sure she was also gentle as she pushed her elbow into his ribs through his back, and then in his stomach.

"See? You're doing fine!" It sounded like he was trying to convince himself, "another thing, the knee. You'll probably only use it for the stomach, but once he's double over, you can elbow him right in the back of the head. If he's too busy puking and on the verge of passing out, he won't be able to fight back."

"Like this?"

"Yes! Perfect. Do you wanna have a go at it?"

She nodded, standing like Vulpes showed her how in the first place. His palm rushed at her face, but she blocked it awkwardly with one elbow and brought her elbow into the crook of his neck. He blanched back, and she took the time to bring her knee to his stomach. But he grabbed her leg, and she lost balance, tumbling to the floor. While on the floor, her foot shot up, kicking him right in the balls. He fell beside her and she pinned him down, lying on top of him.

"You were actually really good at that," he kissed her nose.

"Thanks," she smiled at him.

"Let's keep practicing. I'll show you how to use knives. You'll need all the practice you can get for tonight," he said when she whined at him.


End file.
